20. Sett
Sett
I hated seeing him like that. Seeing him succumb to his worries and fears and fall victim to them.
My brother had worked a number on him. That was his method, after all. Not for everyone, but for the select few he deemed too important to lose. In a perverted way Drew should be honored but he and I both knew there was nothing to be proud of there. Being a member of Horus's harem wasn't an accolade. It was a blemish we would never be rid of. But I'd try. By gods and demons, by skies and earth, if there was a way to heal Drew from all the harm that had been done to him, I would find it and make sure he was all right.
I picked Drew up off the ground and we made our way to St. Paul's through the house and ducked into his bar, which now brandished a sign that read Java Jinx and was full of moody, yawning coffee drinkers in business suits.
"Totally different vibe around here in the daytime," I said.
Drew chuckled and marched to the end of the bar where a tall, buff man with short blond hair and beard was talking to a customer.
"Drew! Where have you been?" He turned to Drew and his eyes went wide.
"Oh. Uhm…home?" Drew answered, scratching the back of his head.
The man came around the bar and towered over Drew. "Why haven't you been answering your phone? We've been worried sick. Customers were asking about you."
Drew cursed and glanced at the floor. "I forgot about the bar. Damn it. I'm so sorry Finn. It's been a crazy few days."
"Is everything okay? Anything I can help with?" The man named Finn straightened a little more and his muscles grew bigger, if that was even possible.
"Actually, yes. Can-can we talk?"
Finn nodded and led us through the back into an office space. The magic was palpable in here. Everywhere around me. There was a strong concentration of magic somewhere around here but I couldn't locate it.
"Friend of yours?" Finn pointed at me with a raised eyebrow of suspicion.
It was my turn to flex my muscles and stand a little taller. "Is there a problem?"
Finn smirked but didn't speak.
"No. No problem. Uhm…Finn this is my…this is Sett."
I tried not to focus on him almost calling me his. I tried not to focus on the chemical, physical and spiritual reaction of his words on my body. I tried to ignore the feeling in my gut that wanted to grab him and claim him as mine right here on the spot so that no one ever doubted him or took advantage.
But I did none of those things. I simply reached out to Finn and attempted to shake his hand.
"Sett, this is Finn. Or Fenrir, as he's most commonly known."
I paused and pulled my hand back. "Fenrir, as in the wolf god?" I asked.
He narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms in front of his chest as if to show me how much stronger than me he was. "Sett, as in the trickster god of Egypt?"
I huffed. "I'm no trickster!"
Fenrir scoffed. "We'll see about that," he said and turned to Drew. "So, Drew, what can I help with?"
I looked at Drew too, standing between us. He bit his lip and glanced from me to Fenrir a few times before he spoke.
"I…I'm looking…the truth is…I'm enslaved to a god. No, not him," he added when Fenrir frowned at me. "And I need to find a way to escape him so that we can kill him and save our family."
Fenrir considered him for a moment, eyes so narrowed they were practically closed, but he didn't say anything.
"So? Can you help or not?" Drew asked him after several seconds.
Fenrir finally breathed out and turned his back on us. "I'm calling my dad," he said.
I frowned.
Did he mean…
"Is that really necessary? Your dad hates me."
"Well, with reason, considering you won't stop flirting with his man."
I stopped. "You're what with whom?" I asked.
Drew pursed his lips and frowned. "It's not what it sounds like," he said with worry in his expression.
I wanted to reach out and tell him it was okay, that whatever he'd done before he met me didn't matter. That he was allowed to have a past. To have liked other people. But I didn't get a chance.
"It's exactly what it sounds like," Fenrir said.
"It's not!" Drew snapped.
Even Fenrir jumped.
"O…kay. I didn't mean—" Fenrir started.
"It's not like that. You…you don't understand! It…it wasn't me. Or I don't think it was. I…I don't know." As quickly as he caught on fire just as quickly it died down, leaving him all raw and vulnerable yet again.
He turned his back to both of us but I could see his shoulders shaking and I reached for to him.
"Hey," I whispered.
"It's not like that," he cried.
I pulled him into my arms where he let go and cried like I'd never seen him cry before.
"I'm sorry, Drew. I didn't mean to offend. I…I'll call my dad. He'll know how to help. I think."
Fenrir's expression had changed from amusement to concern and he ducked out of the office waving a phone in his hand, leaving me to tend to Drew.
I helped him down onto the office chair and let him cry. I knew that was what he needed. He didn't need me to talk him down, or whisper sweet nothings. Sometimes, all one needed was a good, cathartic cry.
The minutes passed like hours and a little while later he was all cried out and back to his normal self. And Fenrir's dad and his man were here.
We came out of the office to an empty cafe and a single table occupied by a tall, buff man and a small ginger-haired guy.
"Loki!" I said and reached out to him.
Even if I hadn't had the clue from him being Fenrir's dad, the undeniable green eye and gold eye would have given it away.
He rose to greet me and I took him in my arms. He patted my back with the force of a god and I gave as good as I got.
"I was sorry to hear about Ra," he said and let go.
"Thank you." I nodded.
There was nothing much else I could say to that. No words would ever be sufficient to describe the loss.
"This is my boyfriend, Tomasz." He gestured toward the ginger man who wasn't much taller when he stood and shook my hand.
"Thank you for coming," I said and Loki glanced at Drew with distaste.
"Why don't we all take a seat and we can tell you what's happening," I said.
Loki huffed but both he and his boyfriend sat down, the latter with a genuine smile. Fenrir grabbed a seat from the next table over and sat between his father and me.
Everyone turned to Drew who cowered under the scrutiny. So I decided to tell them all a story.
My story.
And how my story had become Drew's.
"Oh my god, Drew! You poor, poor thing. Both of you. I'm so sorry!" Tomasz said and reached across the table to grab Drew's hands.
Drew shook his head and pulled his hands back.
"Don't. I…I don't deserve it," he said.
"What are you talking about?" Tomasz asked.
Drew glanced at Fenrir, at Loki and looked at his lap when he talked next.
"I've been a lie since you met me. I don't deserve your sympathies."
"What do you mean?" Tomasz asked.
"The…the first night I met you, in Soho. It was all a setup. Horus ordered me to get close. To find a way, any way to become your friend. To infiltrate your circle."
"What? Why would he do that?"
Drew bit his lip and cracked his knuckles instead of answering, until I grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze.
He cast a glance my way and sighed.
"Because. He needed an in with Mother Red Cap. He knew she was in the business of awakening gods but he also knew she wouldn't accept anyone who didn't come recommended. My job was to get close, to become a friend so that…so that when I came asking for help, you'd send me to her."
Tomasz gasped and covered his mouth with his hand.
"I'm so sorry, Tomasz!"
Drew reached across the table for Tomasz, apologizing over and over again.
"That's not why I'm upset, Drew. I'm upset because you've been forced to do all those things you never wanted to do."
"But I tricked you. I flirted with you to win you over. I flirted with Sandro. I wasn't genuine with you."
"First of all, we just thought that's what you're like. A player. If we didn't like you, we wouldn't have befriended you. And secondly and most importantly, you weren't disingenuous. You were ordered to do all those things. You had no choice. So there's no reason to feel guilty about it."
Drew frowned. "You're way too forgiving. I thought you'd be mad."
"Then you're overthinking this. But it's understandable," Tomasz said.
"Look, Drew, you know I wasn't your biggest fan, but I know a thing or two about being enslaved. You shouldn't blame yourself for things that were outside of your control," Loki said.
Drew cocked his head. "You…you do? How?" he asked.
"That's why I called him," Fenrir said. "Father?"
Loki huffed and raised an eyebrow at his son before he leaned forward and put both hands on the table. "I was enslaved for a long time, like you. My ex…he bound me to an object. And anyone who possessed it, possessed me."
I could practically hear Drew's head explode as he leaned closer and his eyes went wider with tame excitement.
"What-how did you escape?"
"I didn't. Tomasz freed me but I chose to bind myself to him instead."
"Why would you do that?"
"Because, freedom was too much for me. You see, I'm not like other gods. I'm a chaos god. I have to cause chaos. Misery. Grief. Confusion. It's in my blood. Being free would mean I wouldn't stop until I destroyed this world with my games. So instead, I chose sanity. And love." Loki moved his hand to Tomasz's lap and the young man held him tight.
"So…so there's no escape? I can't find a way to not be influenced by Horus?" Drew asked, the hope draining from his face as if it was life itself.
"Not necessarily." Tomasz narrowed his eyes and studied his boyfriend for a few moments before he turned to Drew. "There might be a way to…shield yourself."
"How?" Drew shouted.
Tomasz flinched but wasn't deterred by his friend's eagerness.
"A while ago I had this made," he said and showed a bracelet he was wearing. "It links with another piece that when Loki wears it, he can resist my commands and he can compel me instead."
Loki smirked and pulled at his shirt, to reveal a dog collar around his neck.
"Oh my! Ew. Dad! I told you, I don't need to know what goes on in your sex life!" Fenrir groaned and walked away shielding his eyes.
I chuckled.
"He's sensitive," I said. "My son was practically begging me to get screwed."
"Well, I'm glad you listened to him." Loki smirked and glanced at Drew.
Drew didn't seem interested in this conversation however, or in Fenrir's prudish theatrics.
"H-how did you get those? Do you think they could work for me?"
Tomasz shrugged and pulled a card from his phone case.
"I don't know. These were made specifically for us so we can’t even test it. You'll have to talk to Frankie and he'll help you figure out what's possible, but if there's anyone who can do it, I'm sure it's him."
He slid the card across the table and Drew snatched it as if it was the most precious thing in the world.
"Thank you, Tomasz. Thank you so much," he said and pulled the young man into a big hug that made the trickster god dry cough. "Sorry," Drew said when he pulled away before Loki also pulled Drew into his arms, almost knocking our table over.
"Good luck kid. And I hope next time I see you, you're a free man," he said.
Drew steadied himself and nodded.
Loki and Tomasz left the cafe and Fenrir approached us again. "I don't suppose you want a coffee?"
"We've got to go," Drew said and marched out.
"That's what I thought," Fenrir murmured and I shook his hand on my way out. "Good luck. And we're here for you if you need us."
We wouldn't need them again. Not after this guy called Frankie. All we needed was Drew to be able to resist Horus's compulsion and everything else should be a piece of cake.
I just hoped nothing happened to Anubis and Gene in the meantime.